The Cambridge History of the Native Peoples of the Americas, Volume II: Mesoamerica, gives a comprehensive and authoritative overview of all the important native civilizations of the Mesoamerican area, beginning with archaeological discussions of paleoindian, archaic and preclassic societies and continuing to the present. Fully illustrated and engagingly written, the book is divided into sections that discuss the native cultures of Mesoamerica before and after their first contact with the Europeans. The various chapters balance theoretical points of view as they trace the cultural history and...

Deep within the forest in northern Guatemala lie the ruins of Rio Azul, a Maya city that reached one-third the size of Tikal. Discovered and partially explored in the early 1960s. Rio Azul and the surrounding region were more fully investigated between 1983 and 1987 by an archaeological team led by Richard E. W. Adams. In this summary, Adams integrates the findings of field archaeologists with those of the epigraphers and art historians to recreate the life of this Maya city from the little-known Early Classic period.

Remains in the Rio Azul area date from 900 B.C. to A.D. 850. The data...

This major revision of Adams's classic text on the ancient civilizations of Mesoamerica, lavishly illustrated with 130 b&w illustrations and 18 maps, adds new information from archaeological fieldwork in the region from the 1990s through 2004 and evaluates recent theories regarding the remarkable prehistoric cultures of this region.

In this concise, yet sweeping look at the origins and development of ancient New World civilizations, Richard Adams provides a superb introductory overview of these unique and fascinating cultures. Incorporating the latest breakthroughs in the study of the cultures of Mesoamerica and the Andes, Adams examines the development of the Olmec, Maya, Aztec, and Inca peoples, among others, from simple agricultural societies to urban civilizations with complex transportation networks, distinct social hierarchies, rich artistic and religious traditions, and writing systems that have defied...

William Ferguson's classic photographic portrayal of the major pre-Columbian ruins of Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, and Honduras is now available in a completely revised edition. Magnificent aerial and ground photographs give both armchair and actual visitors unparalleled views of fifty-one ancient cities. The restored areas of each site and their interesting and exotic features are shown within each group of ruins. The authors have thoroughly revised the text for this new edition, and they have added over 30 new photographs and illustrations as well as a completely new chapter by R E W Adams on...